Engine-starting apparatus.



Patend July 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

v. G. APPLE. ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I2. ISIS.

V. G. APPLE. ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED Aus. I2, 1916.

Patented July 3, .1917.

j A. 75% c w N N1 m Q. QN 3, MQ.. [a .qm mm w W. Ou L .5 3 .m M 2., M 1 a V. G. APPLE.

ENGINE STARTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED Aus. lz, 1915.

Patented July 3, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 34 VINCENT G. APFLE, OF DAYTON, HI.

ENGINE-STARTING APPARATUS.

Application aiefi August i2, 191e.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that LIVINCENT Gr. APPLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, liaveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

'This invention relates .to improvements in. automobile engine starting and current geni erating apparatus.

More particularly the invention resides in` the manner of mounting the dynamo electric machine and its gearing at the front end of the engine to permit its ready attachment to cars already in use.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an electric starting. and current gen.-

ei'ating-unit with its associated gearing which is compact, reliable, efficient and so disposed as to permit its attachment to the front end of an engine without in any way altering the construction of the engine or chassis.

vAnother object of the invention is to provide an engine starting'and current generating unit together with an associated gearing mechanism which displaces the -fan belt driving pulley usually mounted at the front end of the engine crank shaft, occupying the space formerly taken by the pulley and havinga rim surface for driving the fan belt.

Other and further objects will become 'apf .parent to those `skilled in the art from a consideration ofthe following specification and drawings, wherein I Figure 1 is a vertical axial sectional view through the front end of 'an automobile engine and frame showing my improved apparatus Iapplied. thereto. Fig. 2 isa horizontal plan yiew of the fragmentary parts of a car with my improved apparatus applied thereto as shown 111 Fig.'

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and n Fig. 4 isv an end elevation of the pinion carrying member detached from its asso.

ciated parts.

In the drawings I have'illustrated my 1nvention as applied to the front end of a Ford car, and though it is readily adaptable to other types of machines, for the purpose of a clear disclosure, I will describe it in this association. l

The front end of the crank case 10, be-

'Speccation of Letters Patent.

. pin 26.

Fat-criteri July 3, 1917..

Serial No; 114,589.

yond the bearing-supporting web 11 is extended in the form of a shallow, dish-like /nose or pan 12, to which the front end supporting hanger 13 is secured, as at 14. rIhe f ront end cross member of the car which liesbeneath the radiator comprises anin- .verted U-shaped channel 15 within which is positioned the arched central portion 16 of j the vehicle supporting spring. t The spring is secured in position'by a pair of spaced apart U-shaped clips 17 which extend under the frame members 15 and spring 16,

with their threadedlegsl' projecting uplwardly throughlapertures in the hanger platev 18, whicho'verlies the upperv face of member 15. legs 17 and securely clamp the hanger plate, frame member and spring together. The center. portion of the hangerplate is provided with a cradle 2O on 'its upper surface to receive a tubular' extension 21 integral with the hanger-13 and in axial alinement with the engine crank shaft 22. This eX- tension serves as a bearing for the starting crank furnished with this type of car and also asa front end support for the engine. A. saddle 23 overlies the tubular extension and when secured in place by the bolt 24 clamps the same in place.

The shaft 22 projects -beyondthe front end bearing 25 carried in the web '11 a distance suiiicient to provide support for a fan belt driving pulley secured thereto by means of a pin 26. The structure thus far described is a part of the standard Ford car and, of course, forms no part of my invention. f

In order to attach my apparatus to a car of this type I first remove the starting crank which normally is journaled within the -tubular extension 21 and also remove the fan belt driving pulley secured on shaft 22 by The gearing which Iemploy for connecting the dynamo electric machine to the shaft' is similar to and embodies the principles disclosed in the co-pendin0r application' of Frederick W. Ootterman Efor improvements in gearing. filed May 11th, 1916, and serially numbered 96,7 69. With this form of gearing a reduced speed driving connection is secured when the dynamo functions as a motor for starting the engine, but when the engine takes up its cycle of operation the reversal in direction of drive automatically brings about a one-toene driving relation Nuts 19 arethreaded' on the y v conical surface 44 of the stationary memberbetween the crank shaft and dynamo. The

principal parts of this type of gearing are the two concentric gear members with rela,-

,ively diagonally disposed teeth and inter-m posed connecting pinions mounted on axes transverse the axis of the two gear members and meshing therewith.

In the particular form lof gearing whic I have illustrated, the internal gear member 27 is provided withl an axially .extending hub 28 bored o ut`to receive the end of the crank shaft 22 and flanged, as at 29, for abutment against the end crank shaft bearing 25. The fianged end of the gear is ax-` ially slotted, as indicated in dotted lines at 30, in Fig. 1, for engagement with the pin 26 which passes through the shaft* 22 and serves the purpose of holding the fan belt driving pulley in position. I

The outer end of the pinion 27 is reduced in diameter, as at 31, to form a shoulder 32 abutting against the end of the crank shaft -22 and provides a bearing for the concentric pinion carrying member 33. This pinion carrying member 33 is adapted to support three diagonally disposed pinions 34, mounted on shafts 35, carried at their ends in the upstanding ears 36. The

inner end of the pinion carrier. is bored.

out, as at 37, to overlie the gear 27 and opposite the pinions iscut away, as at 38, to permit inter-engagement between the gear and pinion. The inner end of the pinion carrier is provided with an outwardly prol A45. The inner end of the conical portion 42 of the internal gear 41 is enlarged, as

at 46,- and finds bearing on the shoulder 47 provided on the outer end of the pinion carrying member 33. The stationary member 45 is'provided with a tubular extension 48, the inner wall of which is provided with axial slots for register with the corresponding key ways 49 formed on the periphery of the inner end of the tubular member 50 which projects through and is secured with.

in the tubular nose 21 formed at the front end of vthe engine crank case. i

The outer end of the pinion carrier 33 is provided with an inwardly extending hub 51 in which isformed a plurality ofkey ways 52 for engagement with the corresponding centers 5 3 formed on the inner end of the dynamo shaft 54. The tubular stationary part50 may conveniently form a projection from the end. wall 55 of the dynamo casing 56 mountedl at the front of operation of the gearing,

the car. As an additional support for the dynamo I haveprovided a pair of inwardly extending lugs 57 on the end wall 55 of the dynamo, so positioned as to overlie the for'- wardly extending pair ofthreaded legs 17 of the spring clips 17. The gearing mech- -anism heretofore described is entirely inclosedgwithin a two part casing.. One part comprises a radially extending fiange member58` positioned between the flanged end 29 of the gear 27'and the radially extending flange '39 of the pinion carrier. The periphery of this casing member is provided with a pulley belt driving surface 59 for driving the fan pulley belt` 60. The front member ofthe casing is of conical confor- .mation las indicated at 61, to overlie the conical stationary member 45, its inner end being bored out, as at 62, for bearing on the tubular projection 48 of the stationary member. Its peripheral' portion is formed for contact with the forwardly extending portion of the pulley drum 59 to which it is secured by means of the screws 63. The. 'flange member 58 of the casing is provided with openings 64 for register with slots 65 formed in the periphery of the flange 29 on the inner gear to receive pins 66 for the purpose of holding the two parts together,l

and insuring rotation of the casing member when the pinion is rotated.v A

I have providedsuitable means for lubricating the gearing by forming tapped openings 67 in the conical casing members 61 into which take threaded removable plugs 68. Apertures 69 and 70 are .provided A in the conicalmembers 42 and 45, respectively, to permit grease forced into the openings 67 to pass on throu well las to the various bearings.

It will be noted that the two axially extensive parts, namely the dynamo shaft 54 and the stationary tubular part 50, are both axially keyed, at their inner ends; forsliding engagement with the members to which 'they are connected. This permits the-gearingto be mounted upon the end of the crank shaft by first removing the handv crank and belt pulley. The dynamo .is then applied fro-m the front ofthe -car Awith its elongated parts ,projecting through the tubular hanger member 21, their keyed inner endsvsliding into driving engagement with" the parts to which they are to be connected. The lugs 57 are then secured on the spring hanger legs 17 the nuts 19 tightened and the apparatus isin place ready for operation.l y

Referring now more particularly to the it will be apparent that since the teeth on the gear 27 and internal gear 41A are transversely disposed with respect toeach other, those on the former being generallyaxial, whereas those on the latter are generally transverse to the gh to lthe gearing, as

axis, the bodily rotation of the pinion, or'

connecting gear 34, rotation of the. inner gear 27 being resisted will tend toproduce a rotation of the connecting gears about their own axes, which in turn, axially dis-v which is transmitted to a slow rotary movement of the inner gear 27.

Thus, it will beapparent, that with the pinion carrier acting as a driver, the engine shaft 22 must be driven at a reduced speed and in the same direction of rotation as the driving pinion carrier 33. Rotation of the pinion carrier is secured through means of the dynamo shaft 54 with its feather key engagement with the inwardly projecting hub 51 of the pinion carrier. Thus the dynamo, serving as a motor, will drive the engine shaft 22 through a reduced speed c gearing as' desscribed. When, however, the

engine picks up and begins to drive the shaft 22 at speed, the pinion carrier may be considered as an element to be driven with the armature secured on shaft 54 as its load. The operation is then as follows:

When the shaft 22 acts as a driving member, rotating in' the same direction as it was initially drlven, the gear 27 rotating with the-shaft, tends to drive the pinions 34 in rotation about their individual axes. Consequently the pinions 34 tend in their rotation to shift internal gear 41 axially to the left, and thus into engagement with the rotating peripheral shoulder 40 of the pinion carrier. The pinions 34 being unable to rotate on their own axes, operate simply as a clutch member connecting the internal gear 4l with the inner gear 27 so that the entire mechanism rotates as a unit, thus effecting a one to one drive between the engine crank and the dynamo armature.

The casing, comprising the two members 58 and 6l, rotating with the crank shaft of the engine furnishes a constant drive for the fan belt 60.

lVhereas I have illustrated and described a single embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims;

Having described my invention, what I claim is j l l. The combination with the forwardly projecting end of the crank shaft of an engine, and the underlying crank case support having a tubular projection in axial alme- V ment with the shaft; of a speed varying gearing mechanism connected to the end of the shaft, a starting motor carried atthe front of the support, and a connection eX-l tending from the motor rearwardly through projection for`lengagen1ent with t. the gearings.

the tubular 2. In a motor vehicle,the-combination with the forwardly projecting end lof an engine crank shaft, and the transverse frame member; of a starting motor secured to and positioned ahead of said member, and speedvarying gearing at the rear of said member and connecting the shaft and motor for the transmission of power.

3. In a motor vehicle the 'combination lof the forwardly projecting end .of an ,engine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member;

of a starting motor carried by said member, and speed-varying gearing interposed between the frame member and crank shaft and connecting the motor and crank shaft for the transmission of power.v

4. In a motor vehicle the combination of the forwardly projecting end of an engine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member; of a starting motor carried by said member at the front thereof, and speed varying gearing interposed between the frame member and crank shaft and supported on said shaft for connecting the motor and crank shaft fo the transmission of power. i

5. In a motor vehicle the combination with the forwardly projecting end of an engine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member; of a starting motor carried by said frame member at the front thereof, andy speed varying rearing mounted ron the shaft at the rear of the frame member, and sliding connections between the motor and gearing whereby the gearing and motor may be separated .by relative axial movement.

6. In a motor vehicle the combination with the forwardly projecting end of an engine crankshaft and a transverse frame member; of a starting motor carried by said member at the front thereof and speed varying gearing mounted on 4the front end of said crank shaft and making sliding connection therewith whereby the crank shaft and gearing may be separated by relative axial movement.

7. In a motor vehicle the combination with a forwardly projecting end of an engine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member motor and gearing may e separated by relative axial movement.

8. In a motor vehicle the combinatlon with thel forwardly projecting end of an engine crankshaft, a crank case having a forwardly' extending supporting member, a transverse frame member, and connections between the crank case extension and transverse frame members; of a starting motor carried by the.

frame member at the front thereof, variable speed gearing, mounted on the end of the crank shaft at the rear of the member, and axially separable connections between the motor and gearing.

9. In a motor vehicle the combination with A the forwardly projecting end of anengine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member;

of astarting motor carried by said member, and speed varying gearing carried by the end of the crank shaft and connecting theA motor and crank shaft for the transmission of power, said speed varying gearing having a fan belt driving surface formed on the f periphery thereof.

10. with the forwardly projecting end of an engine crank shaft, and a transverse frame member; of a starting motor carried by said In a motorl vehicle the combination Inv testimony whereof I hereunto setmy hand in the presence of two subscribing witl nesses.

' VINCENT G. APPLE. In the presence of CARL L. BAUMANN, MORRIS P. CRoMER. 

